Ohio statutory procedures supersede township regulations in the termination of a township police officer.

A township police officer was terminated after the officer refused to submit to a psychological examination prompted by citizen complaints. Under the police department's general orders, the chief of police signed a charging form and submitted it to the board of township trustees. The Second Appellate District held that this procedure violated the express mandate of Ohio Revised Code § 505.491 that the board of township trustees, not the chief of police, must file any written charges against a police officer. The termination was, therefore, reversed in the administrative appeal portion of the case. However, the Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment in favor of the chief of police on the officer's tortious interference with contract claim, holding that the chief was protected by a privilege when he acted within the scope of his duties in the orders he gave the officer and the charge he filed.

Case Law Alert - 2nd Qtr 2010